In recent days, the Internet has been buzzing: many users report Zelensky purchasing a villa in the United States and applying for American citizenship.
#Cube found out how true the rumors are. And… a sensation, as usual, did not happen, says Euronews, although many users reported details supported by photos of “real” documents. Allegedly, Vladimir Zelensky applied for US citizenship after purchasing a multimillion-dollar villa in Florida. Moreover, he has already left Ukraine in search of asylum in the United States. How are things going in reality?
The issue of sending money to help Ukraine to counter a full-scale Russian invasion has literally become a stumbling block in the US Congress. writes euronews. Pro-Kremlin accounts took advantage of the situation to claim that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky had “emptied the US treasury.” One similar post by right-wing activist and former Republican Senate candidate Lauren Witzke was viewed nearly 10 million times on Platform X.
Witzke claims Zelensky is considering leaving Ukraine after buying a $20 million house in Florida. And as proof, she allegedly published a copy of the American document on the naturalization of the President of Ukraine.
To verify these claims, #Cube conducted a reverse image search of the villa. The house mentioned in the post is located on Ponte Vedra beach – more than 300 kilometers from the site of Zelensky’s proposed new mansion. As of December 20, the villa was still on the market and worth nearly $11 million.
In the United States, real estate transaction documents are publicly available, including online. The home in question was purchased in 2019 for $6.3 million. It was sold to an Atlanta couple who work in finance. They are still the owners. As for the document allegedly indicating that the President of Ukraine has submitted an application for citizenship, it is also a fake.
Another reverse image search, says #Cube, led us to this form, available on the Internet. As for the photo, we discovered that someone took it from the official website of the Ukrainian government. We noticed other inaccuracies, for example, the absence of Zelensky’s middle name (Aleksandrovich) and his signature in the certificate, which is required by law.
This is not the first and not the last disinformation regarding the Ukrainian president, writes Air Force. The website of a former Marine now living in Russia started a rumor that Vladimir Zelensky used American money provided to help Ukraine to purchase two luxury yachts.
Even though the claim was misinformation, the fake idea worked. It began to spread on the Internet, and even American congressmen, who make important decisions on the allocation of military aid to Kyiv, reacted to it.
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